In honor of the Presidential election this week, we’re taking a trip back in time to look at Plainsboro’s political history. The township of Plainsboro held its first presidential election in 1920, a year after its founding. This was also the first election held after the ratification of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote. In that historic election, Republican candidate Warren G. Harding won.

Interestingly, Plainsboro has some history with a presidential candidate. In 1940, Plainsboro was visited by Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie, who had stopped by the Plainsboro train station on his campaign tour. A photo of him waving has been included above. Willkie was a businessman from Indiana with an interesting history in politics. The dark horse candidate, he had only secured the Republican nomination because he was an interventionist while his opponents were isolationists. Unfortunately, Willkie lost the 1940 election to Franklin D. Roosevelt. This was Roosevelt’s unprecedented third term in office.

While not a presidential candidate, one of Plainsboro’s own did run for Senate. John V.B. Wicoff launched a senatorial campaign in 1936, aiming to be the Republican senator for New Jersey. He didn’t win in the primary election, and the Republican candidate William Warren Barbour eventually lost to Democrat William H. Smathers. Wicoff’s campaign flyer is part of the museum’s collection, and a photo of it has been included in this post’s line-up.